LGBT Groups Demand Justice for Trayvon Martin

Open letter: Fla. case and LGBT community linked by quest for civil rights

photo by David Shankbone

A crowd protests the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012.

A coalition of 35 LGBT rights organizations, led by the National Black Justice Coalition and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, issued an open letter on July 15 demanding justice for Florida murder victim Trayvon Martin.

The groups “stand is solidarity” with the unarmed black teenager and his family. Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted of second-degree murder in the case last Sunday. The organizations point to the shared search for justice and civil rights among LGBT people and people of color who face discrimination, calling for an end to “bias, hatred, profiling and violence in our communities.”

The full text of the letter and list of signing organizations appears below.

An Open Letter: Trayvon Deserves Justice

We cannot begin to imagine the continued pain and suffering endured by Trayvon Martin's family and friends. We stand in solidarity with them as they continue to fight for justice, civil rights and closure. And we thank everyone who has pushed and will continue to push for justice.

Trayvon Martin deserves justice and his civil rights. We support the organizations and community leaders who are urging the federal government to explore every option to ensure that justice is served for Trayvon and that his civil rights are honored and respected. But our work does not end there: we will honor Trayvon Martin by strengthening our commitment to end bias, hatred, profiling and violence across our communities.

We represent organizations with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituencies. Our community has been targets of bigotry, bias, profiling and violence. We have experienced the heart-breaking despair of young people targeted for who they are, who they are presumed to be, or who they love: Rashawn Brazell, Lawrence King, Ali Forney, Brandon Teena, Brandon White, Matthew Shepard, Marco McMillian, Angie Zapata, Sakia Gunn, Gwen Araujo and countless others.

Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety.

Justice delayed is justice denied, and in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “a right delayed is a right denied.” We honor Trayvon by seeking justice for all people.